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Companies' mash-up makes splash with 'coffee porter'

Could it be a match made in heaven? If you like coffee and dark beer, the answer is yes.

Two Clackamas County companies, Happyrock Coffee Roasting Co. of Gladstone, and Fearless Brewing Co. of Estacada, have collaborated to create Fearless Happyrock Coffee Porter, to be released Wednesday, May 22.

The first tasting will only be available in Portland at 6 p.m. at the Green Dragon, located at 928 S.E. Ninth Ave., but Ken Johnson, owner of Fearless Brewing, said if the feedback is positive, soon Clackamas County residents will be able to savor the dark, mellow taste of the porter at numerous locations in the area.

Fearless brews are sold at local Fred Meyer stores, along with Haggen, Market of Choice and New Seasons, Johnson said, noting that both the Highcliffe Pub & Eatery and the Highland Stillhouse, in Oregon City, have Fearless beers on tap.

Coffee porter

Coffee beer is just delicious, said Lisa Halcom, owner of Happyrock Coffee in Gladstone.

I have wanted to work with another Clackamas County company for years, and I like Fearless beer. Our clienteles are similar. I know that Fearless porter is really smooth and dark, and my Darkness of Divinity coffee is also really smooth, she said.

Johnson asked Halcom to make up a coffee extract that was added to the porter, right at the end in the conditioning process.

At the end, the beer ages and we let it carbonate. Beer needs time for the flavors to meld, Johnson said.

As for the taste, he described the coffee porter as mellow, with a nice, round coffee thing going on. Its a good beer to relax with.

And if Estacada seems like an out-of-the-way place for a 10-year-old brewing company, Johnson has an answer for that.

The Clackamas River is awesome water to brew with, he said.

He added that each Fearless bottle has a slogan: Made from the magical waters of the Clackamas River.